Jerome Wetzel is the Chief Television Critic for Seat42F and a regular contributing reviewer on Blogcritics. He also appears on The Good, The Bad, and the Geeky podcast and Let's Talk TV With Barbara Barnett.

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Monday, August 27, 2012

Doctor Who ducks the Spearhead From Space

Doctor Who - Spearhead From Space
begins with our titular character exiled on Earth and in a hospital. At
the same time, meteorites are falling, one of which contains an
intelligence that can manufacture Autons, which it plans on using to
take over the world. UNIT could really use the Doctor's help in dealing
with the invasion, if only they knew where he was.

Spearhead From Space, the first serial of season seven,
marks several important firsts. This is the first episode featuring Jon
Pertwee as the Doctor, the Time Lords having forced the character's
regeneration at the conclusion of the previous season. It is the first
episode that Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), whom we'd
seen before, is featured as a series regular. It introduces Dr. Liz
Shaw (Caroline John) as the new companion. Additionally, the episode has
a new title sequence, and marks the first time a Doctor Who serial was made in color. It was the first story aired outside of the series' normal Saturday night time slot.

With so much new, Spearhead from Space is as much a story
about the Doctor as it is about the adventure the characters are
undertaking. The concept of regeneration is a new one for
Lethbridge-Stewart, who has a hard time believing this is the same
Doctor he has worked with in the past, albeit in a different body. The
process of the Doctor switching bodies is still relatively new to the
series, and Lethbridge-Stewart serves as a nice vehicle for the audience
to access the concept so vital to the mythology.

This serial also sets up the Doctor's next big arc. He is marooned on
Earth at the whims of his fellow Time Lords. The Doctor isn't too
pleased with the situation, but makes a deal with UNIT to make things
more tenable. This is a character out of his element, which is always
fun to explore. Pertwee seems to be the perfect actor to execute this
particular plot.

It is interesting to me that a being of almost pure thought, who has
escaped the bounds of a physical body, is still interested in
controlling the rest of the world. Yes, the intelligence contains some
powers that help it accomplish things it could not as a normal life
form. But it seems so much less efficient to not have any limbs. And why
is it so concerned with forcing others to its will? What does it need
with Earth? Spearhead from Space is far from the only sci-fi story to ponder these questions, continuing one of the strangest themes in the genre.

Seeing
that this is a Special Edition release, the Extras are plenty. There
are two audio commentaries, one featuring Courtney and Shaw, and the
other with script editor Terrance Dicks and producer Derrick Sherwin, as
well as a Production Notes subtitle option. The typical photo gallery
and PDF materials are joined by trailers for the serial.

Two featurettes give the fans what they are seeking. Eighteen minutes
are spent discussing the challenges faced by converting the series to
color. Another 22 minutes go behind the scenes with Pertwee, Dicks,
Sherwin, Barry Letts, Robin Squire, and Christine Rawlins.

As usual, the picture and sound has been remastered. Also, as usual,
it is far from perfect, but is a huge improvement over what has been
available in the past, which is understandable, given the age and
quality of film. In fact, this is the only serial shot entirely on film,
rather than tape, and thus is the only classic Doctor Who story that even has a chance of a Blu-ray edition at some point. The way Doctor Who
is consistently and lovingly restored is a testament to the importance
of the series, and makes the extras icing on an already delicious cake.